No answers on Teebane 25 years on

Ian McCrea beside the Teebane Memorial after vandals targeted it with paint in 2016.

Published:07:25Monday 16 January 2017

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Families of those affected by the Teebane massacre are “deeply disappointed” that they have no answers to their questions 25 years after the IRA atrocity, the wife of one of the survivors has said.

Jan Crawford, whose husband Gary Crawford was badly injured in the bombing, was speaking ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attack tomorrow.

Eight Protestant workmen died and another six were injured when the IRA blew up their minibus at the Teebane crossroads between Omagh and Cookstown on January 17, 1992.

The IRA attempted to justify the attack on the grounds that the men had been working for the firm Karl Construction at army barracks in Omagh. Nobody has ever been convicted for the attack.

Mrs Crawford said: “As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Teebane bombing it is deeply disappointing that the families affected still have no answers, no acknowledgement and no pension for those who were left seriously injured.

“Like many other victims and survivors my family have resisted being in the public domain in the intervening years. We desperately wanted to have a normal life and I recently applied to join the Victims Forum to do my part to support others and speak out together.

“My husband lost the opportunity to build a pension for our retirement and the least we can expect is that those in government would deliver on their promises from the Good Friday Agreement to the Stormont House Agreement, to put victims at the centre of the peace process.

“How can we expect society to move forward if we continue to let victims and survivors down?”

Kenny Donaldson, director of services at Lisnaskea based South East Fermanagh Foundation said: “The Teebane massacre was a brutal sectarian atrocity committed by fanatics who stole the lives of hard working men who were committed to doing right by themselves and their families through contributing to society.

He added: “A newfound desire must exist within the political, criminal justice and civic spheres to practically support those impacted, whether that be in responding to justice, truth and accountability for those impacted or the provision of support for those bereaved and injured as they battle daily living.”